Magnetic heads for disk files are currently supplied in the form of a slider, carrying a transducer element, which is mounted on a suspension flexure. The flexure is provided with locating features for location on a support arm which extends from an access mechanism for positioning the heads. Fine wires (leads) for carrying signals to and from the head are led out from the transducing element along the flexure to the access mechanism through tubes which are retained on the flexure. Heads are generally provided to the disk file manufacturing line as head/support assemblies which include the flexure, slider and leads.
On assembly to a rigid support arm or upon the subsequent mounting of the arm on the access mechanism, each set of leads from multiple heads must be connected to the data channel circuitry of the disk file. This circuitry may be partly on the arm, the access mechanism or fixed elsewhere in the disk file. Intermediate flexible tape cable connections are employed both on the arm itself and between the access mechanism and fixed portions of the file.
Connections of a large number of heads to such intermediate flexible tape cable is very labor intensive as each individual head lead must be placed over and soldered to a corresponding conductor or terminal pad.
An article by J. P. G. Dunman et al (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 20, No. 5, October 1977, P 1984) entitled "Actuator Assembly For A Disk File", shows such connections for a rotary actuator having a rigid arm with compliant head suspensions mounted on the arm in which the signal processing electronics are mounted on a rigid printed circuit board (PCB) mounted statically alongside the actuator. Connection to the PCB is via a flexible tape cable having one end connected both electrically and mechanically to the PCB end and the other mounted on the arm, with a free portion of flexible cable in between to facilitate actuator movement. Connection of the head leads to the flexible cable at the arm end is achieved by soldering of the free ends of the leads to exposed contact pads on the end of the flexible cable mounted on the arm.
A further example of head lead connection to a circuit is given in an article by J. T. Young (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 20, No. 12, May 1978, P 5350), entitled "Tape Cable Clip". This shows another arrangement with head leads connected to conductors in a tape cable. It includes a clip, whose primary function is to retain the tape cable to the arm. As a secondary function, the clip also retains the free ends of the head leads against the arm and provides strain relief for them. It achieves this secondary function through a sprung member with channels which cover and clamp the head leads to the arm at a point some distance from the point of connection to the tape cable. No details are given of the method of attaching the head leads to the tape cable but, in the IBM 3310 Disk Storage Facility, which employs the described arrangement, the free ends of the head leads are manually bent and positioned to lie over contact pads on the tape cable, whereupon solder is applied to bond the lead ends to the tape cable. Thus the clip provides limited retention of the leads to assist manual soldering but does not avoid the manipulation of individual leads.
In an article entitled "Magnetic Wire Preparation For Automatic Wire Bond" by A. Ilgovsky and A. A. Mirza (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 26, No. 11, April 1984, P 5989), a head support assembly is shown in which the ends of the head leads are not left free but are soldered to a small terminal board. Although this board facilitates connection of the head/support assembly to external circuitry in that it is sturdier and more stable than the free head leads, it does introduce an additional connector and multiplies the number of electrical termination operations needed with a consequently greater chance of failure of the component.
Finally, to complete the review of the known prior art, it is well known to connect integrated circuit chips to external circuitry by means of so called "lead-frames". These are patterns of metal fingers which locate on respective pins of the chip. A lead frame which is itself encapsulated in a plastic material support shell is shown in an article by W. R. De Boskey entitled "Directly Attached Integrated Circuit Lead Frame" (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 15, No. 1, June 1972, P 307).